Friday, 31 October 2014

Bandai Namco Holding inc., Asatsu-DK inc., and Aniplex inc. announced on Thursday that they will establish a joint company called Anime Consortium Japan, Inc. (ACJ). The company's goal is to develop a new internet streaming platform for overseas markets along with an e-commerce business for official anime content.

The platform will deliver simulcast new anime titles and older series in various languages. The company will launch on November 7 and expects to be in full operation by April 2015. Daisuki, Inc will merge with Anime Consortium Japan with funding by the Japanese government's Cool Japaninitiative. The initiative will invest one billion yen (about US$9.1 million) in the project.

Bandai Namco Games is a leading global Japanese publisher and developer of interactive media, including major video game consoles. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the top video game franchises. The company also produced its share of anime such as Space Dandy, the Blue Exorcist film, Accel World, Eureka Seven, and Sword Art Online.

Doctor Who:Flatlinefinished the week as the23rdmost watched programme on British Television, according to figures from Barb.Top for the week wasDownton Abbey, which had 10.39 million watching.Doctor Who was the 8th highest rated programme on BBC Television. It had a consolidated share of25.6%of the total TV Audience.

The BBC have confirmed that the final episode in the current run ofDoctor Who,Death in Heaven, will have a 60 minute duration.It will broadcast in the UK on BBC One, on8th Novemberfrom8pmuntil 9pm.The programme will once more followStrictly Come Dancing. It will be followed by the annualRoyal Legion Festival of Remembrance. On the other main UK channels the episode is scheduled against ITV'sThe X Factor(which airs from 8:00pm to 10:00pm), theCulture Show, on BBC2,Walking through Historyon Channel 4, and the filmThe Case for Christmason Channel Five.

Death in Heaven - Press Note:

With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role.

Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.

Funimation announced its plan to stream dubbed versions of Psycho-Pass 2 and Laughing Under the Clouds, while they are still airing in Japan, as part of its FUNimation Broadcast Dubs strategy. The company will stream the dubs exclusively for Funimation subscribers. The first dubbed episode of Laughing Under the Clouds will start on November 1, followed by Psycho-Pass 2 on November 8.Funimation will add new dubbed episodes every Saturday, and Funimation is already streaming both shows with English subtitles.

“We know that anime fans have a strong interest in English dubs, so we are doing everything we can to get them to the fans as soon as possible,” Funimation president and founder Gen Fukunaga said about the project.

Laughing Under the Clouds (Donten ni Warau) beganstreaming with English subtitles on Funimation on October 6. It is a fantasy adventure tale set in the Meiji era that revolves around three mischievous brothers, appointed the unsavory task of transporting Japan's most dangerous criminals to an inescapable prison surrounded by water – a task, as they soon find out, may be easier said than done.

Psycho-Pass takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term "Psycho-Pass" in the anime's title refers to a standard used to measure an individual's being. Funimation describes the second season's story:

Inspector Akane Tsunemori and her comrades at the Criminal Investigation Department return for the mind-blowing continuation of the popular sci-fi series set in a world where the justice system can read your mind – and justice is dispensed from the barrel of a gun. Pick up after the dramatic conclusion to season one, and see what happens to Akane after she learns the truth about the Sibyl System!

Children grow up with various mediums of storytelling surrounding their lives. As these stories become a part of their upbringing, some aspire to become storytellers themselves. For some, this dream takes the form of storytelling through manga. Now, thanks to a new toy from the creative minds at Takara Tomy, kids can learn valuable lessons on what its like to be a manga artist from a young age. Introducing the new "14 Day Mangaka Course."

This special instructional set contains everything that a young person will need to start drawing manga, including a trace board, stationary, screentone, a copybook, a set of 0.1mm Deleter brand "Milipens," and a 14 day lesson book which teaches the fundamentals of the art of manga illustration with lessons such as writing the plot and setting up a "name" for a manuscript, trace board, and drawing faces of characters. With all of these items in hand, your child is ready to take the manga world by storm.

But what sets this toy apart as a true "manga cram school" is the opportunity to have your work looked at by a professional. Those who purchase the "14 Day Mangaka Course" will be allowed to send in the various steps in their learning process to experienced manga artist Izumi Midou to review and a revise the development of his or her work. From there, your child can take the corrections given to them and continue to progress.

The set will be available for purchase online or in various toy stores throughout Japan starting November 11. The current retail price for it is set at 4,500 yen (about US $41.64).

Doctor Who writer and actorMark Gatissis to speak at Annual Lunch for Galha LGBT HumanistsGatiss, who also penned the Emmy nominated dramaAn Adventure in Space and Time, will be the special guest speaker at an event in London on30 Novembercelebrating Galha LGBT Humanists, a network for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender humanists.Gatiss is the writer and co-creator ofSherlock, and writer ofLeague of Gentlemen, and has appeared in in fan-pleasing recurring roles in shows likeGame of ThronesandBeing Human.He has been a firm supporter of campaigns for LGBT rights, as well as humanist activism, over many years. At the Galha Annual Lunch, he will be talking with guests about his commitment to these issues, and toasting to another successful year for Galha, which brings together LGBT people for special events and promotes equality and diversity, particularly in respect of sexual orientation and identity matters.The lunch, which will be at Browns Covent Garden in central London, will see Gatiss honoured with the 2014 LGBT Humanists award, and will also feature a fundraising raffle. All profits will go directly to funding Galha’s activities.Riccy Unwin, Chair of Galha LGBT Humanists, said

Mark is a fantastic actor and writer, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him as the guest of honour at this year’s Annual Lunch. The Annual Lunch is always one of Galha’s most popular events, and this year is shaping up to be a very special occasion. Any fans of Mark ’s who are curious about what we do and would like to come along are more than welcome to join us at Browns on 30 November.

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Viewster will also streaming Cross Ange to the UK. Several other anime titles are listed at the link, but they are not available in the UK.

Correction - In a version of a previous story, it was wrongly claimed that Viewster would be streaming Trinity Seven, Inou Battle Within Everydaylife (Inō-Battle wa Nichijō-kei no Naka de/INOU-Battle in the Usually Daze.) and Girl Friend BETA to the UK. In fact, these titles are being streamed to some regions by Viewster, but not to the UK. Many apologies for the mistake.

While the American toothpaste industry doesn't have the most sterling of flavor records (Crest currently has a lineup of questionable toothpastes in various dessert-y combinations), Japanese retailer Village Vanguard is aiming to give adventurous teethbrushers an early morning jolt with wasabi toothpaste.

Supposedly, not only does it feel like wasabi, but it tastes like it, too, which makes it the logical after-dinner hygiene routine for a night out at the sushi bar.

Japan gets all the interesting snack flavors. Nestlé's KitKat chocolates are well known for their Japan-only flavors like grilled potato, cherry blossom, fruit parfait, and more. Soda conglomerate Pepsi also releases unique flavors in Japan on occasion. The company introduced a green-colored "Pepsi Ice Cucumber" drink in 2007 and yogurt-flavored "Pepsi White" in 2012. This year it's all about "Pepsi Pink," a soda the company claims tastes like strawberry milk.

This actually isn't Pepsi Pink's first appearance. The flavor variation was briefly released back in 2011 for the winter season. Even though Pepsi Pink tastes like strawberry milk, it still has the consistency of a carbonated drink. Pepsi Pink will only be out for a limited time starting on December 9. If you're not in Japan, you can try your luck tracking down an old can of the U.S. flavor variants like Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Holiday Spice, or Pepsi Kona.

Bandai Namco Games is streaming the launch trailer for its Power Rangers Super MegaforceNintendo 3DS game. The game shipped in North America on Tuesday.

The side-scrolling action game follows the series' Rangers as they fight an alien invasion sent to take over Earth. The Ranger's supernatural guardian Gosei, gives the group special items that will let them transform into any of the franchise's Red Rangers. Bandai Namco Games describes the story:

The Ruthless Prince Vekar has arrived with his massive alien Armada to conquer the Earth. To face this new evil threat, the MEGAFORCE RANGERS utilize special Morphers and Keys, which allow them to morph into the SUPER MEGAFORCE RANGERS! Using these special Keys, you'll have the incredible ability to play as Legendary Rangers from the past, gaining access to their amazing powers and weapons. Can you channel your inner Super Megaforce to stop the evil Prince Vekar once and for all?

Power Rangers Super Megaforce is Saban's newest North American adaptation of Toei's Super Sentai franchise. The show adds elements from 2011's Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. Nickelodeon began streaming the first full episode in February.

Said Anno, "the Japanese animation industry has hit a dead end—it will be tough to escape unless we can make animation without commercial considerations... It may even be too late."

Anno's answer to this is Animator Expo, a project spearheaded by Studio Khara and media company Dwango that aims to showcase up-and-coming animators and other artistic minds.

Incidentally, Anno is not the first director this year to voice unhappiness with the current direction of Japan's animation industry. Just last month, Under the Dog producer and Creative Intelligence Arts fouder Hiroaki Yura hopped on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" to concerns as well.

Reason is 'desynchronisation' of dub track on one episode; DVD is not affected.

Anime Limited has announced that the release of the Blu-ray of Kill la Kill Volume 1 has been pushed back to December 1. (The DVD edition is still scheduled for November 3.) From the message:

We've had to push the release date back for Kill la Kill on Blu-Ray to December 1st again (1 week before it was originally scheduled to be). This is because an eagle-eyed forum-goer who picked up a copy at MCM Expo spotted a 0.4 second desynchronisation on the dub track on Episode 4 of our Blu-Ray print (DVD isn't impacted, so will remain on date). On further inspection it looks like there was an issue on our end with it so we've gone and done the only thing we think is right – quarantine all stock before it goes out to retail and replace Disc 1 with a corrected CMF so folks looking for the dub get a fix without need for a replacement scheme.

Basically it means all retail stock will be fixed now at our own expense.

On its facebook page, Anime Limited confirmed that all customers who bought early copies at London Comic Con should 'hang tight' until December 1, when replacements would be organised.

The eye-popping world of women's professional wrestling is sweaty, sadistic, and savagely sexy. Famous Japanese pop idol Sakura Hagiwara is better suited for the dance floor than the wrestling ring, but this ravishing songstress is about to put her body to the ultimate test. When she and fellow idol Elena are assigned to pose as wrestlers for a very special show, a vicious lady brawler by the name of Rio decides to teach the girls a lesson they won't soon forget. Rio unleashes a flurry of ferocious of attacks on Elena, contorting her divine female form into an array of very naughty positions. Shocked by the blush-inducing beating taken by her friend, Sakura vows to get her heavenly curves ready to rumble and redeem the good name of idols everywhere by becoming a bona fide diva of the pro-wrestling world

Celebrate Yuletide in style this year with the best Christmas sweater... ever!This wonderful Doctor Who sweater features a great 'knit effect' repeat pattern mixed in with your traditional Christmas jumper style snowflakes."Fancy a festive-Who get up? The Good news is Forbidden Planet have put up for pre-order some great Christmas related who-items! T-shirts and jumpers relating to Doctor Who in a festive-style print are to be shipped on the 5th December, which means they're guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas Day!T-shirts priced at £15.99 and the jumper print at £26.99. You can view and order themhere.

BBC Worldwidehave cancelled a large number of dates for the TARDIS studio set tour at theDoctor Who Experiencein Cardiff.The BBC released a statement in an email sent to customers who had purchased tour tickets for dates in November:

The Doctor Who Experience would like to apologise that due to studio operational reasons we are unable to offer the TARDIS Studio Set Tour from 3rd November – 23rd November. Ticket holders will be contacted by our agent CrowdSurge who will – where possible – exchange dates or arrange refunds. We sincerely apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience this may cause.

CrowdSurge has advised customers:

Please be patient whilst we deal with this issue, we will endeavour to respond as quickly as possible, however due to the volume of customers affected we will be unusually busy. The fastest way to contact us will be via this form and our customer service email address which is support@crowdsurge.com.

The BBC recently released a new video for the Experience which introduces viewers to the Gallifrey Museum, which will form part of the new interactive element of the Experience.

Silva Screenare to releaseMurray Gold's music fromThe Day of the DoctorandThe Time of the Doctoron a two disc CD. The set will be released in the UK the day after Doctor Who's 51st anniversary on Monday, 24th November 2014. Artwork for the album has not yet been released by Silva Screen.

Track Listing

The Day of the Doctor / The Time of the DoctorRelease Date: 24th November 2014(pre-order)

Tiny Rebel Games, the creators of the Doctor Who Legacy Series have announced the addition of the Fourth Doctor, as portrayed byTom Baker, to the game, making the set of Doctors complete.

When we launched our game, just under a year ago, we had only the 10th and 11th Doctors included. Over the year, we fulfilled one big part of our promise of diligently working our way back through the 50 year history of Doctor Who by adding all of the Doctors! And we did this while also pushing forward with the series with our groundbreaking weekly support of Season 8 with new content including the 12th Doctor, new allies like Danny Pink and Saibra, and new costumes for favorites like Clara, Vastra and Jenny.